Rossiyskaya Gazeta, under the heading "General Designer Vladimir Degtyar: Sarmat has been put into serial production", published an interview with the General director and general designer of JSC "State Rocket Center named after Academician V. P. Makeev" (JSC "GRC Makeev", as part of the State Corporation "Roskomos") Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences Vladimir Degtyar.The first test launch of the RS-28 "Sarmat" advanced liquid-fueled intercontinental ballistic missile as part of the flight design testing program from the State Test Cosmodrome of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation (Plesetsk Cosmodrome) in the Arkhangelsk Region, 04/20/2022 (c) The Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation / RIA Novosti
The missile equipment of strategic submarines with the legendary "Blue", the ship's combat launch complex for the "Bulava" and the newest ground-based rocket "Sarmat" - all this and much more have been developed at the V.P. Makeev State Missile Center.
Its General Director and General designer, Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences Vladimir Degtyar, is in direct dialogue with Rossiyskaya Gazeta.The first question, Vladimir Grigorievich, is direct and partly personal.
Academician Degtyar, General Director and General Designer of the GRC, is the only leader of his kind who has been combining these two key positions since 1998. In most other NGOs and design bureaus, they were separated under various pretexts. I was a witness when your leaders confidently declared: "And the Tar will be divided!" And how do you see this situation yourself?
Vladimir Degtyar: Yes, I have almost 25 years of experience in these key positions. The General Designer is responsible for the entire range of work on the design, development, modernization of the product, extension of its service life. Therefore, he should have the appropriate powers not only technically, but also economically. He should have the right to make resource decisions, including on financial and personnel issues. All these important tasks are subordinated to one main goal - the creation of a product. And in order to solve them as efficiently and effectively as possible, the head, in my opinion, should be in one person.
An illustration to your words can be the creation of the latest Sarmat rocket. The fact that such work was entrusted to the Makeev GRC was first heard on the sidelines of the General Meeting of the RAS in 2012. And then they made it clear that this is a task for at least a decade. You have met the deadlines and have already conducted the tests. What did they show?Vladimir Degtyar: The technical and economic task for the Sarmat development work was determined by the modern appearance of the complex.
Then throwing tests were performed to test the launch of the rocket. And on April 20, 2022, a successful launch of the Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missile was carried out from the 1st Plesetsk State Test Cosmodrome in the Arkhangelsk region - the first in the program of state flight tests. The launch tasks have been completed in full. The training combat units arrived in a given area on the battlefield of the Kura training ground in Kamchatka.
And the prospects of the rocket?
Vladimir Degtyar: The missile system has already been put into mass production, provided with the necessary materials and production equipment. Created by the cooperation of enterprises headed by the State Missile Center, Sarmat in the next 40-50 years will strengthen the combat potential of the Armed Forces, reliably ensure the security of Russia from external threats. And in today's geopolitical conditions, this is our reliable shield, the main factor of nuclear deterrence and a guarantee of preserving peace.
Sarmat belongs to the class of heavy liquid-fueled missiles. And has the direction of solid-fuel rockets been preserved in the activities of the GRC? Or did it go entirely to the Moscow Institute of Heat Engineering?
Vladimir Degtyar: Our company has accumulated a wealth of experience in the development, production and operation of solid-fuel missiles on the example of the Typhoon marine complex with the RSM-52 submarine ballistic missile, which has been on combat duty for the Navy for 20 years. We managed to master and understand a lot during the development of a missile with improved tactical and technical characteristics on the topic of "Bark". Few people know, so I will say: it was at the Makeev GRC that the ship's combat launch complex was developed as part of the Bulava development work. All this experience allows us to confidently say that today we are the only company in the country capable of developing strategic missile systems with both liquid-fuel and solid-fuel missiles.
In today's geopolitical conditions, this is a reliable shield for Russia, the main factor of nuclear deterrence and a guarantee of preserving peace"Bark", we remind readers, did not go into the series, but played a big role in the development and development of new technologies, and not only for rocket science…
Vladimir Degtyar: Absolutely right. Due to the fact that we are faced with, and we ourselves set very complex and stringent requirements for our subcontractors (the creation of a SLBM in the specified dimensions of a missile silo with a high concentration of energy in a limited volume), during the development of the Typhoon and Bark complexes, according to our technical specifications, a truly inexhaustible reserve for solid fuels was created in the country.
We regularly participate in competitive developments and conduct proactive system design studies on solid-fuel missiles for various purposes. More recently, working on a promising SLBM at the stage of technical proposals, we considered options for both liquid and solid fuel rockets. The technical and economic characteristics of the liquid-fuel rocket turned out to be better.
By the way, a number of special-purpose solid-fuel engines are also used as part of the Sarmat ICBM. Including Makeev's own developments of the GRC, which perform certain functions along the entire trajectory of the rocket.
Some time ago, Rossiyskaya Gazeta, under the symbolic heading "A Liner was sent for the Blue," reported on two interrelated developments of your center for equipping the strategic submarine forces of Russia. What was their fate and what prospects do they have today?
Vladimir Degtyar: A feature of the development work on the topics "Blue" and "Liner" was the realization of the modernization potential inherent in the creation of the R-29RM base rocket, and the maximum use of the adaptive-modular properties of the D-9RM base missile complex. As a result, the list of missile variants used on one missile carrier in any combination of them was expanded. It should also be noted here the experimental design work of the Station, which preceded the Sineva and Liner ROC and ensured the implementation of adaptive-modular properties in terms of combat equipment.
Unlike the "Blue", the "Liner" missiles can be equipped with different types of combat loads. In modern conditions, equipping a missile with means of counteraction increases the efficiency of its use. The missile's combat stage and countermeasures, developed on the basis of the adaptive-modular principle, provide the possibility of a flexible response to changes in the missile defense system by replacing the combat load.
Thus, the Sineva and Liner missiles in the second decade of our century ensured the parrying of the problems of strategic deterrence of the "probable enemy" during periods of aggravation of the international situation. Today they form the basis of the maritime component of the Russian nuclear triad and currently provide the possibility of the existence of an active North-Western grouping of submarines until 2026-2030. This gives us time to conduct research and develop a promising sea-based missile system, which I have already mentioned.
The Ural Design Bureau of Mechanical Engineering and its successor, the Makeeva GRC, have been working for many years and continue to work in close cooperation with the Krasnoyarsk Machine-Building Plant. What is instructive, what lessons can be learned from such cooperation?
Vladimir Degtyar: I should explain: "Krasmash" is part of the integrated structure of the Makeev GRC for the development of naval strategic weapons, which was established in 2007 on the basis of a decree of the President of Russia. And cooperation with Krasmash on the creation of rocket and space technology began in the mid-1960s. Today it is a modern and well-equipped production enterprise that allows you to effectively solve the tasks set by the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation.
Of course, many complex technical and organizational issues arise in the process of work. However, thanks to the already developed mechanism of interaction between specialists of enterprises, which is supported by a high level of trusting relationships, such problems find prompt resolution.
Among your long-standing cooperation partners and co-authors of new developments are not only rocket factories and industrial design bureaus, but also Rosatom's nuclear weapons centers - in particular, the RFNC-VNIITF in the city of Snezhinsk, which is adjacent to Miass. How is cooperation developing in this area?
Vladimir Degtyar: The concept of strategic complexes determines the most powerful equipment of ballistic missiles. And the development of such equipment is carried out in close cooperation with the enterprises of the Rosatom State Corporation. Together with the RFNC-VNIITF team, various equipment options have been created, which are based, among other things, on pioneer solutions. For example, the combination of product housings, the expansion of a number of standard sizes, the solution of hypersonic flight problems.
Both your center and colleagues in Snezhinsk have always maintained close ties with the Russian Academy of Sciences and its Ural Branch. How relevant and important is it today? How can academic science help to solve practical problems that arise in front of such centers as yours and your associates?
Vladimir Degtyar: Fundamental scientific research is a necessary stage in the development of rocket technology. The complexity and novelty of emerging scientific and technical problems requires the involvement of a wide range of scientific organizations in various areas of research. Scientific and technical cooperation between the GRC and the Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences dates back to the 70s of the last century. Both half a century ago and now, academic institutes, having the necessary scientific and technical potential and laboratory facilities, have significantly helped and are helping developers of rocket technology.
The General Designer is responsible for the final result and should have the right to make resource decisions, as well as financial and personnel
In recent years, the subject of joint work has covered many promising areas. Such work was also carried out on a new ground-based strategic missile system. Scientific organizations of the Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences have carried out a number of fundamental oriented studies on topical areas of the enterprise. And the introduction of the results of such research into the products of our development allowed us to significantly improve their tactical and technical characteristics, solve the scientific and technical problems we faced.
What kind of civil developments have already become or may become the business card of the Makeev GRC?
Vladimir Degtyar: There's a whole line here. Using its scientific and technical potential and an established system of cooperative relations, the GRC develops high-tech products and equipment for the oil and gas complex, energy, medicine, transport, construction.
As an example, we can cite the model of the AKP-50 "Taganay" fire truck that we developed by order of the Ministry of Emergency Situations of Russia. According to some of its characteristics, it surpassed analogues, including world ones. For example, the load capacity of the basket of our lift is 500 kilograms, and the popular Finnish "Bronto" is 350. The manufactured prototype successfully passed the tests and was accepted for the supply of the State Fire Service of the Ministry of Emergency Situations of Russia, permission was obtained for its serial production.
There is an experience of participation in the creation of tram production in Yekaterinburg. The SPECTRUM-1 tramcar was developed in our center - the country's first high-comfort tramcar with traction drive based on asynchronous AC motors. It is also equipped with a microprocessor control and diagnostic system. Such a tram has been mass-produced since 1998 by the Uraltransmash plant in Yekaterinburg, now its modernized version is being produced.
Among the awards of your team there are many that are associated with the Navy and its submarine forces. As I understand it, this area of general activity and special developments of the GRC has been and remains a priority?
Vladimir Degtyar: Yes, of course. Throughout the history of the enterprise, the maritime theme has been and remains decisive for us - from developments for surface launch of missiles from submarines to the most modern strategic systems. Being a deterrent weapon, the GRC complexes are based on the Northern and Pacific fleets and reliably protect the maritime borders of our Homeland. Together with the cooperation of enterprises, we do not stop research on improving marine missile systems and ways of placing them on nuclear submarines to optimize the flight performance of marine missiles.
How would you like to see the Makeev GRC in the future? And what changes are taking place, are planned in Miass, where your employees live, work, raise children?
Vladimir Degtyar: I think we have not yet reached the level of development at which we can "rest on our laurels". It's not in our rules. GRC today is a wealth of experience and breakthrough solutions, significant scientific and technical potential and a creative, efficient team. We continue to develop in order to be able to provide everything that is required of us within the framework of the state defense order. And, in addition, we are actively working on promising space exploration projects, the development and creation of various high-tech products.
The State Rocket Center is one of the city-forming enterprises of Miass. Production and urban infrastructure are developing, new neighborhoods are being built, and modern public spaces are emerging. It is comfortable to live, study, work and relax in Miass, and all this together is an important incentive to attract young talented specialists to our company.
From time to time, there is talk at different levels about projects to protect the Earth from asteroids. And at the same time, they often refer to the developments and proposals that come from the Makeev GRC. Explain what's on the case here, and what's abstract fantasies...Vladimir Degtyar: After the fall of the famous Chelyabinsk meteorite, the movement of which on February 15, 2013, the workers of the GRC could observe while at their workplaces, it became clear to all of us that the threat is absolutely real.
Moreover, there have already been the Tunguska meteorite, Sikhote-Alinsky, Brazilian and others.
The principles of creating systems for the timely detection and interception of dangerous space objects are already clear. Technical possibilities for creation also exist. The main obstacle to implementation is the high cost of such systems and the low frequency of their use. Therefore, we propose to use multifunctional rocket and space systems, for which anti-asteroid protection is only one of the tasks, but not the most important. For example, an ICBM of the "Sarmat" type. Our new rocket has all the necessary properties to solve such a problem: high energy, high thrust-to-weight ratio, short preparation time for launch.
We are carrying out design studies of the appearance of an interceptor strike vehicle to combat small-class space objects (from 10 to 100 meters). Existing and promising ground-based astronomical facilities are able to perform the function of detecting larger objects well, but they are not operational enough for small ones. Therefore, the most important task is their timely detection. "Sarmat" is able to solve its task if the detection occurred at least 5-7 hours before the collision at a distance of 1-2 million kilometers.
Our studies with colleagues working in academic institutions have shown that the creation of space-based detection tools with the required characteristics for "outdoor surveillance" of near-Earth space is possible. One of the options is to place four spacecraft at libration points located at a distance of 150 million and 1.5 million kilometers from Earth. Being at these points, the devices will maintain a constant position relative to the Earth. However, the creation of such a system in relatively deep space requires huge financial investments.
This year is an anniversary year both for the Makeev GRC - 75 years, and for you personally - it has been half a century since you came to work at the Mechanical Engineering Design Bureau, as it was then called. What was the reason for your choice 50 years ago and what do you think about it now?
Vladimir Degtyar: I came here right after graduating from the Chelyabinsk Polytechnic Institute (now it is the South Ural State University). And I did not regret that I was assigned to KBM, although I could have gone to work in Zlatoust, Sverdlovsk or Moscow - there really was a choice. I was attracted by the scale of the tasks being solved and the opportunity for us, young specialists, to immediately immerse ourselves in specific, interesting and important activities for the country. By the way, this is what happened: after four months of work, I was sent for flight tests on a long business trip to the North with access by submarine to the Barents and Norwegian Seas.
The desire to create more and more advanced, better samples of rocket technology is the main driving force for me. The creation of strategic weapons and the successes achieved at the same time give an incomparable sense of satisfaction. Therefore, I can't imagine any other way for myself.
You are the head of the Aircraft Department at South Ural State University and head of the Dissertation Council at SUSU. How does this contribute to attracting young, modern-minded and well-trained personnel to the GRC?
Vladimir Degtyar: The Department of "Aircraft" is the base for our company, and therefore the work on personnel training is put under my direct control. A strong teaching staff, a good educational and laboratory base, targeted training, practice-oriented programs on the presentation of the SRC, nominal scholarships to the best students - all this increases the interest of young people in rocket specialties. And, as a result, it helps to attract young professionals to our industry and to our team.
For two years, the Makeeva GRC and SUSU have been working together on the implementation of a large-scale project within the framework of the Scientific and Educational Center - they set out to create demonstrators of the propulsion system for a fully reusable single-stage launch vehicle. The most prepared and interested students are involved in the work, and this is also one of the effective mechanisms for training personnel for our company.
Alexander Emelianenkov (Chelyabinsk Region - Moscow)Without the "secret" label
The rocket center in the city of Miass, Chelyabinsk region, which counts down its history from the first post-war years, has a well-known "business card" - Viktor Petrovich Makeev.
The name of the chief designer and long-term head of this design bureau is now in its short name: GRC Makeev. An associate and colleague of Sergei Korolev, he ensured the creation of missiles and missile systems for three generations of submarines as part of the strategic nuclear forces of the USSR.
Among the most famous are "Blue" with liquid-fueled rockets and "Typhoon" - on solid. And now - "Sarmat", already ground-based. This missile has the ability to hit targets from almost any direction of approach to them. The on-board control system can adjust the flight path using GLONASS satellites. In addition, the Sarmat is equipped with special means that make it difficult to detect its warheads when in the Earth's atmosphere and outside it. These measures, on the one hand, make it possible to ensure high accuracy of targeting. And on the other hand, they do not allow to make an accurate forecast of trajectories for the use of missile defense shock means.
To confirm this kind of capabilities, its flight design tests are carried out. The first such launch was reported in the spring of 2022. And recently, the commander of the Strategic Missile Forces, Colonel-General Sergei Karakaev, also reported on the successful flight tests of the Sarmat - at the end of last week, this was officially announced on the website of the Russian Defense Ministry. According to information from other, as yet unofficial sources, the second test launch as part of the flight design tests of the Sarmat ICBM can be carried out before the end of 2022.
Prepared by Alexander EmelianenkovVladimir Degtyar: "Sarmat" in the next 40-50 years will strengthen the combat potential of the Armed Forces, reliably ensure the security of Russia from external threats (c) Mikhail Metzel / TASS / RIA Novosti
